Chapter Fifteen: The Namirèn

The Sleeping Death, as it came to be known, did not come to Courerà that year, or the next. With the help of the courts, Elven and Gwendolyn banned all travel across the kingdom, unless it was a direct matter of life and death. The great gate to Erârün was shut, and Kiriün became a sealed kingdom indeed. Camps were set up at the entrances to all the largest towns, and healers—under the watchful eye of soldiers—monitored all who entered and left for signs of illness. Many were turned away; food became scarce in the capital, and even the rich grew hungry. Word of illegal trade in luxuries reached the ears of the courts, but to Elven it was a small price to pay to keep the plague at bay.

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Chapter Fourteen: A Sealed Kingdom

“Gwendolyn!” he cried, and rushed to her side. Instinctively he began feeling for the wound, but she pushed his hand away.

“Elven, I’m fine,” she said, gasping for breath.

“You’re covered in blood!” he exclaimed.

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Chapter Thirteen: The Coming of the Plague

For some time they remained in in Kyte-on-Farrowmill, as Elven knew Talya and Meredith were unfit to travel, and he would not leave without them. He knew in his heart, too, that he had not yet fulfilled his duty to find the source of the rumored illness, and as much as he wanted to return with his newfound family to Courerà, he could not ignore what the queen had asked of him.

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